Features

Delicious Fall Soup from Roberta’s Cookbook

A seasonal fall soup with bacon? Say no more.

The Brooklyn destination the New York Times called “one of the most extraordinary restaurants in the country”—which began as a pizza place and quickly redefined the urban food landscape—releases its highly anticipated debut cookbook.

When Roberta’s opened in 2008 in a concrete bunker in Bushwick, it was a pizzeria where you could stop in for dinner and stumble out hours later, happy. It’s still a down-the-rabbit-hole kind of place but has also become a destination for groundbreaking food, a wholly original dining experience, and a rooftop garden that marked the beginning of the urban farming movement in New York City. The forces behind Roberta’s—chef Carlo Mirarchi and co-owners Brandon Hoy and Chris Parachini—share recipes, photographs, and stories meant to capture the experience of Roberta’s for those who haven’t been, and to immortalize it for those who’ve been there since the beginning.

Try the recipe for irresistible split pea soup with bacon below for a delicious fall treat.

Split Pea Soup With Benton’s Bacon

340 grams (12⁄3 cups) green split peas
6 slices (about 240 grams/ 8 ounces) Benton’s bacon, diced
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (12-ounce) can Miller High Life or any lager
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

The secret ingredient in this soup should be obvious. it ain’t the split peas. You could make a case that miller High life is the secret ingre- dient, but you’d be wrong. Benton’s bacon, cured and smoked by allan Benton and company in the hills of Tennessee, is the most deeply flavorful, deeply smoky bacon we’ve ever had and probably ever will have. it’s the muscle in this soup, which is thick and hearty and power- ful enough to knock the winter doldrums unconscious.
Put the split peas in a strainer and rinse them very thoroughly with cold water. Set a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Sweat the bacon slowly until it begins to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the carrot and onion to the pot and cook until they soften and the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the split peas and water to cover (about 21⁄2 cups). Add the beer to the pot along with a couple of pinches of salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook on a very gentle simmer for 2 hours, stirring regularly and adding water as needed to keep the peas covered. The consistency should be like a thick puree. If it’s not, continue cooking and stirring. It’s not possible to overcook this soup. When it’s done, check the seasoning and serve.